The Lost Star Episode One (12 page)

His cruel bravado didn’t take him
far.

As soon as the doors swished closed, a pang
of guilt crossed his heart.

She was injured.

He had a duty.

So he turned and walked back in.

He expected Ava to be over with a doctor. He
expected – no, wanted to believe – that she’d just put on a face of
bravery to irritate him.

He was wrong. She was standing exactly where
he’d left her.

Swallowing his pride and anger, he walked
up to Chen. “There’s another injury. Ensign Ava broke her
wrist.”

Chen looked around, gaze locking on Ava’s
left wrist.

It was purple and black now.

Chen paled and rushed over. “Why the hell
didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“No, please, concentrate on Nema. I’ll be
fine,” Ava tried.

“
I’m not talking to you, ensign,” Chen said
as he sliced his gaze towards Hunter.

Chen’s look said it all.

Hunter
took a step back. He didn’t need this right now. He turned
to leave.

“
Lieutenant
, do you mind hanging around? I’ll need you to
clarify exactly what happened,” Chen said.

Hunter
had to swallow his pride for a second time as he forced a
nod.

Chen helped Ava to a bed and began
scanning her arm. “I’m going to need you to take your armlets off.
I know Avixans don’t take their ceremonial wrist bands off, however
I also know on extreme medical grounds they can be taken off. This
is an extremely bad break. I was able to work around your armlets
twice yesterday, but I have to access the bone under your
band.”

“I can’t take them off,” she answered in a
quiet tone.

“I know it’s a ceremonial faux pas. I can do
it in a private room. But they have to come off.”

She wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone.
“I can’t take them off.”

“
Ensign
, this is a direct order. You need to show me how to remove
them.”

“I can’t take them off,” she repeated, still
staring at the wall.

That pissed Hunter off. Here Chen was
trying to do his best, and she was ignoring him.

Prickly anger spiked up his back. “Ensign,
follow a direct order.”

“My armlets do not come off,” she said in a
stronger tone, the first time she’d ever responded in like kind to
his anger.

“
Yes they do. I know they can’t be that
important; I’ve seen Meva take hers off plenty of times,” he
snapped.

Ava looked at him, shock shattering her
expression. Her eyes grew wide, her cheeks slackened, and her lips
stiffened and parted.

The intensity of her reaction was enough to
send a bolt of nerves shooting down his back.

“She… takes her bands off?” Ava asked in a
stuttering tone.

It was like he’d just told her Meva was the
devil.

He suddenly realized he might have just
shared an intimate detail that could get Meva in trouble.

“
Is that such a bad thing?” Chen asked
diplomatically, a touch of concern arcing through his words, no
doubt at Ava’s strong reaction.

“
It’s forbidden,” her voice dropped low.
“Avixan society does not permit the removal of locks.”

Locks.

She called them locks.

All this time he’d thought those bands were
just adornments. What if they weren’t? What if they were reminders
of how shackled most of Avixan society was?

Come to think of it, Ava’s armlets were
massive. They spanned her entire forearms and were made of an
unusual gold metal that looked expensive. Were they a symbol of her
position in Avixan society? A permanent reminder to the other
Avixans on board that she was better than them?

His muscles constricted as he thought
about it. “Just take them off. Stop playing the cultural-reasons
card. If it’s fine for the other Avixans, it should be fine for
you. Unless you think you’re better than them, which you aren’t.
Now, Chen’s trying to help you.”

“
I suggest you don’t comment about things
you don’t understand
.
And they don’t come off,” she said once more, meeting his gaze
directly.

He’d finally done it. He’s pissed her
off.

Good.

She deserved it.

“Okay, guys, we all need to calm down. But I
have to stress once more, I need to get these bands off,” Chen
tried in a calm tone.

“
Doctor, they can’t come off. They are
physically locked on. You would have to amputate my
arms.”

Chen looked shocked. “But… I… the other
Avixan
s—”

“
I’m nothing like the other Avixans. Check
my file. I can’t take my locks off when I feel like it.” She looked
directly at Hunter.

“
I… I’ll check your file.” Chen took a step
back, brought up his wrist device and typed something into it. A
second later he sucked a deep breath through his teeth. “I am very
sorry,” he nodded low, “I didn’t realize. I should not have
insisted. If we’ve offended you culturally, we apologize.” Chen
made brief eye contact with Hunter.

Hunter
ignored it.

So what if Ava couldn’t remove her armbands.
It didn’t mean anything.

“I guess I can work around this.” Chen
nodded. “It might take longer to heal, and you’ll have to come back
for a couple of checkups, but it’s doable. I’m sorry again.”

“
It’s okay.” Ava’s expression mellowed, and
she nodded politely. “You didn’t know. Avixan society can be…
confusing to those from the outside.”

“Sure can, but that’s no excuse for being
insensitive.” Chen grabbed a scanner up and waved it over her
arm.

Hunter
stood there for a single second, then pushed back hard on
his heel.

“
Lieutenant
, wait up. I need to speak to you – clarify what
happened. Can you please wait in my office for me?” Chen didn’t
even look up.

The only thing Chen wanted to clarify was
why Hunter was being such a jerk.

Chen had seniority in all medical matters,
so Hunter had no choice but to obey.

A few minutes later, Chen walked in, waited
for the door to close, crossed his arms, and leaned against the
wall. “What the hell was that?”

“Don’t even start. She deserved it.”

Chen didn’t answer. He just stared at
Hunter. Then slowly, forcefully, Chen shook his head. “That’s a
pretty ugly thing to say. And you’re not an ugly guy. So what the
hell is going on?”

Hunter
’s stomach clenched. “It’s complicated.”

“
Well, let me simplify it for you. You
don’t treat people like that, Hunter, especially crew, especially
24 hours after saving your life. I saw you yesterday, Hunter, you
came barreling into the med bay to check she was alright. Now
you’re treating her like a monster. What the hell happened? What
did she do? What did she possibly say to deserve this?”

In truth? Nothing. It’s who she was.

Chen uncrossed his arms and took a step
forward. “If you can’t answer, I’m guessing your excuse isn’t good
enough.”

Hunter
darted his gaze up. “Meva hates her.”

Chen looked thoroughly and completely
unimpressed. “And that accounts for what, exactly? Are you honestly
going to stand there and tell me you’re going to blindly pick up
someone else’s animosity? Children do that, Hunter, not adults, and
certainly not Coalition personnel.”

“
It’s complicated,” he repeated through
bared teeth.

“
Sure is. You’re basing your entire
judgement on hearsay from a third party. I call that pretty goddamn
complicated. Why don’t you just try the direct approach? Why don’t
you ask Ava herself? Maybe Meva has a good reason to dislike Ava,
maybe she doesn’t – you’re only going to find out if you ask. And
trust me, you want to ask. Blind loyalty is nothing more than
ignorance. You’re better than that. You’re better than
this.”

“
You have no idea. Ava… she’s from a
section of society that… controls the rest. Meva and the other
Avixans are below her. They—”

“
Are you serious? That’s your argument? My
father used to be a space pirate. He personally murdered hundreds
of people. Now I’m a doctor in the Coalition. Why? Because the day
you walk into the Academy is the day you fight for a different
cause. So what if Ava comes from the ruling class, she joined the
Academy. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, lieutenant, but she
can’t rule over anyone here. She can’t even try. Meva’s a
lieutenant, Shera a lieutenant commander. What exactly do they have
to fear from an ensign? They’re the ones in control. Not her. And
you, you should technically be in control too. But right now,
you’re being blind. So wake up.”

Hunter
jerked his mouth open, but there was no way he could defend
himself.

Chen was exposing a fatal flaw to the rage
that had filled Hunter since Meva had collapsed into his arms
yesterday.

Ava wasn’t in control, was she?

She was weak. Shera and Meva were full
warriors. They were also Ava’s superiors….

“
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the
kid sitting out there,” Chen pointed through the glass walls at
Ava’s bed, “Is nice. Decent. She just saved her friend. Yesterday,
she saved you. And today, you rewarded her with absolutely zero
loyalty. I don’t know what it takes to buy loyalty in your books,
Hunter, but in mine that’s enough. Now, I suggest you base your
treatment of her based on her treatment of you.”

“It’s… it’s not that easy….”

“Yeah it is. We have no idea what goes on
behind the closed doors of Avixan society. None. We don’t get to
condemn someone based on rumor. If it wouldn’t stand up in court,
it shouldn’t stand in your heart either. Maybe in Ava’s past she
was involved in whatever social inequity Meva’s suggested. Maybe
she fled to the Academy to get away from it. We don’t know. But we
do know one thing – she hasn’t abused any Avixans since coming on
board. Her Academy file is squeaky clean.”

“
Meva said—”

“Wasn’t Ava Meva’s junior at the Academy? If
Meva had such a problem with Ava, why didn’t she do anything about
it then? She would have seen her around on campus.”

Chen’s question floored Hunter.

“
The bottom line is we don’t know anything.
That means we do not have the evidence to condemn anybody. Innocent
until proven guilty, Hunter.”

That was Harvey’s favorite saying
too.

It cut right to Hunter’s bone.

“
Maybe Ava’s just as bad as Meva’s
suggesting, but for the love of god, find out – don’t just assume.
You’re better than that.” Chen took a step back and marched for the
doors.

Hunter
stood there, unable to move.

Slowly, eventually, he let his gaze draw
across the room and out the glass wall to his side.

Ava was at Nema’s side, her face pressed
with friendly concern.

Instantly he remembered the look of
stone-cold determination that had flared in her eyes before she’d
shoved her arm through the air lock door.

Eventually he pulled himself away from the
view and left the med bay.

Though
he’d started the day with his mind caught in a mess, now
his confusion was an intractable tangle that hung over his
awareness like a thick veil.

He had no idea who to believe.

He only knew one thing for sure: he
deserved to feel the guilt that currently goaded his gut like a
raging bull.

Captain Harvey
McClane

Despite her issues, the
Mandalay finally set sail.

Harvey
McClane stood ramrod straight on the bridge, hands clasped
hard behind his back as he angled his stiff neck at the view
screen.

It offered an unrivalled view of the
Mandalay slowly slipping away from the shipyards.

The shipyards were a testament to
Coalition technology, and they sat stark in the center of the
screen. The Mandalay would be more. Better. The top of her class.
The first of a new breed of ship.

If he could find a way to stop the issues
that plagued her.

This was where he should give a speech.
Tradition dictated that as a ship first set sail its captain would
lead the crew in a rousing oration.

The problem was, he couldn’t find the
words.

Why? Because unease had settled deep in his
gut, cutting out every other feeling.

He was a young captain, granted, but he’d
still been in command long enough to know he should shut off his
disquiet and lead his crew.

But he couldn’t. Deep inside the unease kept
growing. It crawled up his back and sank deep into the back of his
head, leaving a prickling sensation curling around his neck.

His XO turned to him. She nodded low.
“Captain?” she prompted.

He cleared his throat, gaze fixed on the
shipyards as they grew smaller and smaller, the expanse of
star-studded space swallowing them.

Captain Harvey
McClane had made a career out of tracking down
problems. He was self-admittedly one of the best troubleshooters in
the fleet.

So why did he feel as if this problem –
whatever it was – was beyond him?